The spring elections in Wisconsin are set for April 7, and Wauwatosa voters have several active races to decide for seats on the Common Council and School Board. General information is available on the city's website and school district's website.
Watch for this page for the latest reports from Tosa Forward News as the city prepares to head to the polls on Election Day. Early voting has begun and runs through April 3.
Early voting begins in Tosa’s spring elections, including council, School Board races
In-person absentee voting at City Hall runs through April 3, and Election Day is April 7. It is a big one for both for the city and the school district.
Tosa Forward News Staff
Common Council
Voters are electing 12 members to brand new Common Council districts based on a configuration of the council that takes effect after the election.
Meet the 6 candidates in contested elections for Tosa Common Council
All 12 council seats are up for election on April 7 as the city moves to a new district configuration, but only three of those districts have contested elections. Tosa Forward News contacted each candidate in those three races to learn more about their backgrounds and their reasons for running.
David Paulsen
Tosa Forward News compiled snapshots in December of each of those new districts, which can be found here:
These 4 districts have no incumbents running for Tosa council in April
This is the first of three articles providing an overview of the coming council election, the nominating period, the council’s structural changes and the latest status of the 16 incumbents.
David Paulsen
Some council incumbents start election season awaiting challengers
The new 12-seat configuration of the Wauwatosa Common Council, which takes effect with the April 2026 election, is forcing all incumbents interested in staying on the council to campaign for the votes of at least some new constituents in newly drawn districts.
David Paulsen
As filing deadline nears, some council members may face each other
Voters in at least one of the new districts will have two incumbents on the ballot to choose from, and multiple incumbents could be on the ballots in up to three other districts.
David Paulsen
Tosa council members have varying records of attending meetings
In general, the council had a good year of meeting attendance. At most meetings, all but one or two members were present. Some members missed more meetings than others.
David Paulsen
Here are the candidates who have filed to run for Common Council.
| District | Candidate |
| 1 | Brad Foley (C) |
| 2 | Derek Collins |
| 3 | Ernst Franzen (C) |
| 3 | Mark Peters |
| 4 | Amanda Saso |
| 4 | Sean Hurley |
| 5 | Rob Gustafson (C) |
| 6 | Sean Lowe (C) |
| 7 | Joseph Phillips (C) |
| 8 | Michael Indy Stluka |
| 8 | Matthew Wicker |
| 9 | Robin Brannin (C) |
| 10 | Amanda Fuerst (C) |
| 11 | Michael Morgan (C) |
| 11 | Melissa Dolan (C) |
| 12 | Scott Small |
Notation (C) indicates current member of the council.
School Board
These are Tosa’s 8 candidates running for 4 school board seats
Tosa Forward News contacted and interviewed each of the eight candidates to learn more about their backgrounds and to provide an opportunity to share their reasons for running for the school board in the April 7 election.
David Paulsen
Eight candidates filed papers to run for the four open seats. The candidates are:
- Heather Birk
- Liz Heimerl-Roland (I)
- Todd Koehler
- Melissa Lamers
- Christopher Merker
- Dan Stemper
- Jason Wautier (I)
- Lynne Woehrle (I)
Notation (I) indicates a board incumbent.
Tosa School Board candidates present range of perspectives at public forum
Nearly all of the two hours was devoted to hearing the words of the eight candidates themselves, as a crowd of more than 100 people listened inside the Longfellow theater. Tosa Forward News highlights some of their responses.
David Paulsen
School Board candidates debate teacher retention rates, cite contrasting data
Two numbers. Two very different conclusions. Tosa Forward News took a closer look at differing teacher retention rates and what story they might tell about district culture, finding that the apparent discrepancy is largely a matter of interpretation and emphasis.
David Paulsen
Voter files ethics complaints accusing 2030 Slate of violating campaign finance rules
The complaints against the campaigns of Chris Merker, Heather Birk and Dan Stemper mostly relate to the size of fund transfers between the campaign committees and how they reported their coordinated campaign expenses, such as signs and mailings.
David Paulsen
